Table wagering games, such as poker, craps, blackjack, roulette and baccarat, played both on land-based gaming machines and online, are extremely popular. Every year substantial amounts of money are gambled on such games. However, technological advances in the delivery of content for games, means that players of such games are becoming increasingly discerning as to the presentation of the games. Players expect to be excited by new features and by more appealing presentations of traditional features in games.
As a result, developers of games for gaming systems are forced to develop new and innovative features in order to keep existing players interested in the games and in order to attract new players to the games.
One known feature is known as a “side bet”. A side bet is a wager made beyond the normal rules of the base game. Side bets can involve any topic, such as a bet on a football game occurring at the same time as a poker game. Side bets can also be made on side games such as a blackjack side game being played with a poker base game. The addition of side bets and side games to table games played both on land-based gaming machines and online has provided an additional level of interest to players and has increased rewards to be made to the players. However, traditionally side games have only been offered to players that are waiting to play or have finished playing a base game (e.g., folded in a poker game).